United Front
by ChibiPotatoes
Summary: The story of the bravery of 6th company led under the young female officer Halle Heredovich and her Commissar, Andre Malicov. They are charged to hold a vital section of the city of Tsorograd. -Discontinued Until Completion of Frozen Tundra-
1. Prologue: The Trial of Halle Heredovich

******Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while. Sorry that I also ran off track with my romance stories, but here's the beginning to my new story. Enjoy...**

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**Prologue: The Trial of Halle Heredovich**

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The small court room inside Bunker 118 of Fersinkov City, the headquarters for the 113th Imperial Guard Battle Group, was empty except for a single female figure that was pacing a small solitary line in the center of the floor.

The room was loosely decorated; small trinkets were shoved here and there such as a small bush in the very corner that you would not have noticed unless you were looking for it. About a dozen tapestries and banners hung from the low roof. One tapestry that stood out was the picture of Lord-General Gregory Valsen, late commander of the 113th.

Beneath the banners were various photographs of the regiments from Taiga that serve in the ranks of the Imperial Guard, unfortunately the regiments had been shipped to other planets before the current ork Waaagh! assaulted the planet. In dire need of help, the Taigans called the Imperium, immediately after the desperate message, the 113th battle-group was dispatched.

The young female officer, Captain Halle Heredovich, in technical terms: former Captain Halle Heredovich, finally took her seat in the middle of the floor. She was facing the raised podium where the commander of the 113th, Ivor Kulikov, would be sitting.

In the small court room, the tiny spectators section began to fill up. Amongst the seated audience, Halle noticed a few officers of her command squad, including her sanctioned commissar, Andre Malicov, take the seats closest to the podium.

Each of them gave her a subtle salute.

Halle looked at trooper Novisik, the rank on his shoulder telling her that the field commission she had given him was still active. She chuckled to herself, _Apparently that's the only thing command hasn't reprimanded me for._

The reason she was sitting in this chair was legitimate: Failure to follow orders. But the accusation did not have enough negative evidence that the Lord-General's right hand man (the man that put her in this chair) had to dig deep to find some connotation against her, despite the fact that it didn't pertain to the accusation.

A few moments later, Vadivik Misalin, walked into the room taking his seat on the right of the podium facing Halle.

Halle had never liked the man, and he didn't like her. Vadivik was a ghostly man, his skin was so pale it nearly blended with his pristinely white great-coat, and his cheeks sunk deep into his face, and a dark ring surrounded each of his eyes. His appearance made him look a lot older than he really was.

As she looked up at him he did his best to avert his gaze away from hers by busying himself with his latest evidence against her. It seemed as if this man feared her. Maybe it was the fact that Kulikov saw her as an officer with great potential. Unlike Vadivik, Ivor had sided with the young female officer. During the duration of the trial, it had been apparent that Vadivik's evidence had not convinced Ivor whatsoever. True she had disobeyed an order, but in the end the disobedience had done more good than bad.

As if on cue, she heard the Lord-General's commissar yell out, "Attention!"

All in the room obediently stood up as the Lord-General entered the room in his usually relaxed state, "Please, sit, sit. Vadivik if you will please."

Vadivik stood up, calling order to the court room.

And then the trial began…


	2. Chapter 1:The Perimeter of Tsorograd

**Chapter 1: The Perimeter of Tsorograd**

**Weather: Heavy Snows, Possible Blizzard:::Predicted Temperature: -24°C**

* * *

Captain Halle Heredovich of the 203rd Valhallan slowly raised her head to peek over the wreckage of what was once a rockcrete wall. The city of Tsorograd was once a trade center to the residents of the planet of Taiga. It was now a battlefield, the easternmost front of the Imperial Guard against the ork clan, Clan Big Gunzz.

Lilia Ivanov, a former scout from 2nd Platoon and now 2nd in command, was sitting next to Halle with a pair of magnoculars pointed into the seemingly endless wall of snow.

"Thegging snow!" Lilia cursed, "I can't see the tree line, as far as I can tell, those orks could be moving across the plain as we speak."

Halle sighed, a cloud of mist forming through the scarf wrapped around her face, "And to think we praised the Emperor for the cold weather." During planetfall, the Valhallans thanked the Emperor for some home turf, but the snow proved to be problematic for the other three regiments assigned to Tsorograd: the 114th Cadian, 63rd Armageddon Mechanized, and the 47th Krieg Grenadiers.

Even though they had great-coats, scarves, and lots of other gear to keep them warm, you could always see them gathering around a fire, and those with boltguns and boltpistols stuck their freshly spent shells into their clothing.

It was extremely strange...

At first the Valhallans had laughed at the desperate guardsmen, but when the weather began to slowly get worse, they decided it would be the best to help out their struggling comrades.

Halle looked over the wall again when a message came through on her vox-bead. It was Vladimir Sikorsky from 3rd company, "The snow is starting to clear, some of 47th have infiltrated into the plain, they'll be giving us a report in a few minutes."

She switched to her company's channel, "Okay guys, keep your eyes peeled, I don't like this...It's way too quiet." She removed her plasma pistol from her holster, "Prepare for an imminent attack."

A few long minutes later, a man with a heavy accent, a Krieg accent, came through her channel, "This is Gregorry Heinrich to Captain Halle Heredovich, we're heading to your company, can you provide covering fire?"

"Hurry, Heinrich. Do you have a report?"

Halle could see about a dozen figures in dark grey uniforms running in her direction, she noticed that half of them kept turning around firing a few shots from their lasguns into the cloud of snow, "6th Company! Prepare for an assault!"

Lilia had steadied her long-las against a large rock taking a long look through the scope, "I can see orks a few yards following behind that Krieg squad, I can't tell how many there are, they're too close together."

"Estimated range?"

"They're just outside the kill zone, but if we fire we'll hit Heinrich and his squad."

"Two squads from 3rd Platoon on me," Halle said.

"Marie! Laksovin! On the captain!" barked Vladimir as the orks drew closer.

She climbed over the wall drawing her powersword, twenty guardsmen behind her. "Spread out your fire! We want to curb that ork assault long enough for Heinrich to get back with us!"

Heinrich rejoiced the minute the Valhallans jumped over that wall, soon he heard the crack of las-shots go through the gaps in between his men. "C'mon guys! Let's go, go, go!" One of his men began to sprint and just barely passed the Valhallan line when his chest exploded from an ork pistol shot, his limp body falling flat in the snow.

Mikail Vensen wiped the blood of a dead Krieg soldier from his face and began to prep his flamer for its inevitable use. He took a firm grip of his flamer and raised it high, his finger on the trigger, _C'mon you slimy pieces of snot, come and get some..._

Halle was unleashing a hailstorm of plasma fire into the horde of greenskins, each shot blowing off an ork appendage and incinerating an ork head, the body falling under the trampling feet of its former comrades. Halle pushed the activation rune on her powersword and the blade glowed with energy. She quickly holstered her pistol and thought to herself, _This is gonna get ugly._

6th Company! Covering fire!" Halle yelled out as she sidestepped to avoid the oncoming blade of an ork axe. She shoved her blade into the ork's neck and with a flick of her wrist, its head rolled off its shoulders. "Marie, Laksovin, retreat back to the wall!"

As the thirty guardsmen ran back to the safety of the Imperial line, the steady thump of autocannons, and crackle of both heavy bolters and lasguns began to fill their ears as the entire line lit up with suppressing fire.

Despite the enormous amount of gunfire that was being rained down upon them, the orks kept on coming.

There was no way to avoid a close-quarters battle, "Bayonets! Hold the line in the name of the Emperor!"

Heinrich rallied his squad, his chainsword purring with its deadly revolving teeth, "1st Squad! Payback time!" The remaining Krieg soldiers turned to face the oncoming greenskin tide, letting out a loud, "Hoo-ah!"

The Valhallans turned to face their enemy, forming a hedge of finely polished bayonet points. Halle yelled into her vox-bead, "Fire on my order!" She outstretched her plasma pistol, her aim centered on a charging ork nob, "Open Fire!"

The crack of las-shots filled the air as the squads of 6th Company let out a rain of fire, "You may fire at will!" The gunfire cut down orks as they ran forward, but the tide kept on coming. "Prepare to repel borders!"

The Valhallans yelled in acknowledgement as the greenskins continued to run forward. Flamers soon lit up their deadly payloads as promethium filled the air around the savage beasts. And with a loud cry, the line charged headlong into the fray.

Bayonets were flashing against the light of the nearest star, the snow reflecting off of the shining metal that was not stained with the dark blood of orks.

With her sword whistling to and fro, Halle cut down all the orks that came into her blades glowing range. In the midst of battle she could see a man, who looked to be like a Valhallan officer whom she had never seen before, wielding two short powerswords, turning and weaving in a fatal dance of spinning blades.

The surviving orks, caught by surprise by the ferocity of the Valhallan defenders, turned and ran. Some were shot in the back as the chuckling men and women of 6th Company returned to their lines.

Halle now turned to Heinrich, "Do you have any information on the ork force?"

"Yes ma'am, before we were assaulted, we were able to recon the tree line." He said as he handed her a data-slate. "All the information is in there ma'am."

"Thank you Heinrich, you may return to your regiment."

Gregorry nodded, "And, ma'am, you fought well today." He saluted her and turned to his squad, "1st Squad! Fall in!" As the remaining seven stormtroopers walked by, they each gave her a thankful salute or handshake.

As the troopers departed, Halle turned to Lilia, "Lilia, please get Visily up here on the double. Tell him his 'caster is needed."

"Yes, ma'am." Lilia saluted and soon disappeared beyond the length of the wall.

As Halle directed her wounded to the nearest aid station, awaiting the return of Lilia, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, "You seem to have everything under control here Captain. I'm starting to wonder way the Progenium stationed me here."

Halle turned and instantly recognized the man. He was the officer she saw fighting in the battle. He was wearing a white great-coat like those most Valhallan officers wear and he wore a rounded cap like those of most Valhallan high commanders. But he had a black armband with the symbol of the Progenium. But Halle had seen this man once before, but a very long time ago, "Andre! What are you doing here! I haven't seen you in years!"

Andre held up a hand to stop her, "We can catch up later, Captain. But from this point on, the Progenium has assigned me to your company. I am now your new commissar."

Halle smiled but soon redirected her attention to the data-slate in her hand. "According to this, the greenskins number more than we anticipated, and the ork armor is heavily armed. They were able to get a glimpse of two looted Leman Russes." Halle sighed as she read out the last line, "The bulk of the ork force is yet to be accounted for."

Halle spotted Visily running down the length of the wall, a large vox-caster attached to his back, "Ma'am? You needed me?"

"Yes, Visily, once the commissar is finished with the data-slate, I would like for you to transfer that information to field HQ, it's very urgent."

"Yes ma'am."

Andre read over it and then handed it to Visily, "Interesting, these orks seem to be mechanically inclined compared to the rest I've researched. Those Leman Russes are in quite good condition for any regular ork."

"Lilia, you are in charge until I return. If you need me, you know what channel I'll be on." She tapped the vox-bead she had in her ear. Lilia smartly saluted and walked back to where the troops were stationed.

Halle started heading into the city, motioning for Andre to follow her, "I'm afraid this new information on the orks puts a new spotlight on our position on the Eastern Front. We need more forces soon if we are to hold off a force of that size."

"Why do you say that you need more troops? Don't you get reinforcements monthly like all the other regiments?" Andre asked as they entered the three story building that was the officers' quarters.

Halle sighed as she inserted the key into the lock of her door, "Unfortunately, no. The Eastern Front is the area of least action. Most of the fresh troops are sent to defend the North or help with the offensive in the West. We, here, at the East, get little or no additional forces."

"That's quite depressing. But then it's good I'm here." Andre said as he pulled up a nearly-broken chair in her room, "I'm trained for this kind of situation, Captain."

Halle sat down opposite of his seat, "I'm aware, Commissar." She handed him a cup of vodivilisk, "Andre, I'm interested in hearing what you've done since you were moved from the 126th."

"Well,' he said, "As you can tell I'm now a commissar. I attended the Schola Excubitos on Terrax and am proud to say that I'm a 1st class political officer."

Halle took in his appearance, "No offense, Andre, but your uniform doesn't distinguish you as a commissar. In fact you look like any other Valhallan officer here."

He nodded, "True, that's because I'm proud to be a Valhallan, when I'm in combat I want to be characterized as a loyal soldier of Valhalla. I love the uniform of my homeland." Andre took a quick sip from his cup, "But that was the mistake I made on my first assignment, the 56th Cadian on Kinasa Prime." Andre took off his hat and looked at it, "This is my fourth one, the other three were shot off my head." Halle chuckled, he continued, "The commander of the 56th was so worried that I would get them killed, I asked to be put with a Valhallan regiment where my uniform would fit in. Now, I'm here."

Halle smiled, "I'm glad that you're here, too." She took his cup, "If you'll excuse me, but we must return to the front. My soldiers are notorious about spreading rumors."

Halle and Andre walked outside and were hit by a sudden stab of freezing cold air. They noticed that the earlier prediction of lighter snows was false. The snow fall had gotten worse.

Lilia was standing next to the door and fell in step with the two commanders, "Ma'am, we are no longer expecting an attack. The winds are too strong for the orks to attempt to cross the plain. And the snows are too deep for any vehicles to cross.

"Good, are our troops garrisoned?"

"Yes, ma'am, and one more thing Commander."

"Yes?"

"The colonel needs you."


	3. Chapter 2: Hold the Line

**Chapter 2: Hold the Line No Matter the Cost**

**Weather: Light-Heavy Snows:::Predicted Temperature: -20°C**

* * *

Halle and Andre entered the small conference room in the former city hall of Tsorograd. They instantly realized that this meeting was no minor conference. Colonel Sebastian Sugechov of the 203rd along with the other three colonels of the other regiments sat in the very front of the room.

Halle sat herself next to Vladimir Sikorsky, captain of 3rd company, while Andre made his way to the back of the room next to the rest of the commissars.

They all focused their attention to the front as a Cadian officer called the meeting to order. Colonel Sebastian was the first to speak, "We have quite a lot to cover tonight, news both good and bad."

Sebastian turned to Colonel Lindhoff of the 47th Grenadiers, who opened a folder and said, "Good news first, we will be receiving reinforcements in the next few days."

The room cheered.

The 63rd's Colonel, Renik, raised his hand to silence the gathered officers, "Before you cheer and rejoice, let me tell you the bad news. Once those troops arrive, that's all the troops we're going to be getting. After those reinforcements, we're pretty much on our own."

Halle heard a Krieg captain from across the room, "That's it? Nothing more?

"Unfortunately, yes. That's all we're getting."

A Cadian officer spoke out, "Did you inform the Lord-General of our situation?"

Sebastian folded his hands and nodded, "Yes we did, but the situation, we are told, is worse in the Northern Front. The death toll in the North reaches the near hundreds every day."

A few of the female officers let out a gasp of disbelief.

Colonel Harris of the 114th also nodded, "The West is also in need of reinforcements, they are doing an offensive push, and we can expect reinforcements from them in at least two months."

"Two months! We may not be alive in two months!"

Lindhoff looked at the assembled audience, "Yes, the Lord-General knows that possibility, but we have to hold this city, if we fall the entire rear-front of our forces will be exposed. If we do run low on troops, we figured that holding the bridge would be our best bet."

The room began to erupt in protest, but was soon silenced when Sebastian slammed his fist against the table, "We're not finished! Pay attention by the Emperor's name!"

A holo-graphic projection of Landergrasse, a major city in the North where the Imperial forces were staging their defense, appeared in front of the audience.

"Landergrasse is under heavy assault," Renik said sternly, "Half of the city has already been lost, the 109th Harakoni has been annihilated completely, and the 21st Vostroyan has been so devastated that they have been completely removed from action."

"Some 200,000 guardsmen have died in Landergrasse, and another 3,200 have been lost in action in the past week."

"And to make things worse, there have been sightings of looted baneblades wandering the streets, killing relentlessly. One has been confirmed destroyed by the 21st, but at the expense of an entire company."

The projection dissipated and was replaced by a projection of New Mockba, "The forces of New Mockba are in a better position then those in Landergrasse."

The map showed the four bridges of New Mockba, "The four regiments of New Mockba are beginning an offensive which will cripple the greenskins permanently on the West. Once they capture the other half of new Mockba, the orks force will have no where to turn except the western plain or the Calvaris Mountains. There is no shelter in those areas and they will die from the cold conditions. Once the offensive is finished the 56th Elysian and the 87th Tallarn will be re-routed to us."

The room was filled with debate until the four colonels stood up in unison.

Sebastian broke the silence, "One order was emphasized."

The room was quiet for an eerily long time until Lindhoff spoke one fatal line...

"To hold the line no matter the cost."


	4. Chapter 3: The Trial Begins

**Chapter 3: The Trial Begins**

**Weather: Blizzard, Possibility of Clearing:::Predicted Temperature: -36°C**

* * *

The three high officers of 6th company were gathered in Halle's quarters, a map of Tsorograd spread in between the three of them.

Halle leant back in her chair, placing her hands behind her head, "Well, are you guys ready for this?"

The commissar and 2nd in command silently nodded, both still staring at the map. Andre got up and moved to the window, attempting to peek through it, "It's still snowing hard outside."

Lilia joined him by the window, "According to intel, it should clear up tonight."

Andre sighed, and said under his breath, "Which is a bad thing."

Halle was able to overhear him, "I know what you mean, fighting at night, especially here on Taiga, is a very bad thing."

Andre turned back around and sat back down at the table, "Just to pass the time, Halle, how long have you served in the guard?"

Halle sat back down as well, "Only five years, I started when-."

"You were seventeen, I am aware. Are you planning on leaving the guard once you have completed your ten year service?" He asked, pouring himself a cup of vodivilisk.

"No, I'm not planning on leaving," She said.

"Such well spoken words, Captain," Andre said impressed, "I haven't heard that from most other officers I've asked."

Halle smiled lightly, "What about you Andre? How long have you served in the guard?"

Andre handed her a cup, "Five years, I started when I was eighteen."

Lilia sat down with them, "Why do you two know each other so well?"

Both Halle and Andre turned to her, "We trained together, and we were assigned to the same regiment for two years, until Andre left to become a servant of the Progenium."

Andre nodded, "She's right, but in the three years I haven't seen her, I never expected her to become a captain so fast."

Lilia was surprised, "With an attitude like hers! Of course she'd rise in the ranks fast!" Halle chuckled, "Yes, she's a very kind-hearted commander and speaks well of her troop, but you don't want to get on her bad side."

They grew quiet; the small talk didn't seem to pass the time as they originally had wanted it to. They all could sense how tense each other was, there was only a total of about 6,200 soldiers total defending Tsorograd, hardly enough to hold an attack by the ork force that was just sitting a few kilometers northeast of their position.

Halle's vox-bead came to life, "Commander, this is Alexsandr from 1st platoon, the snow seems to be clearing, unfortunately the sun is also going down. By the time the snow has completely cleared, it will be nighttime."

She silently said a prayer to the Emperor, "Thank you, Alexsandr, report to me when the blizzard has lifted."

"Yes Ma'am."

Andre and Lilia had also heard about the weather and began to gather their equipment.

* * *

Alexsandr Colonov, the commander of 1st platoon, lifted his head over the trench parapet and stared into the tree line. Night had fallen, and he was expecting an attack at anytime. He whispered to Leonita Lilionov, "Leonita, can you see any movement in the trees?"

"No, Sir, at least not yet," She had her long-las pointed into the tree line to get a glimpse of the slightest movement, but so far there was nothing.

_Why are these orks waiting, this is a perfect opportunity for them_, Alexsandr thought to himself.

"Alexsandr, do you see anything?" He heard his commander, Halle, say.

"No Ma'am, we haven't spotted anything yet, thank the Emperor."

"Even so, keep an eye out for anything."

"Yes Ma'am."

* * *

Halle had a pair of magnoculars in her hand; the orks had not yet made a move. It was too quiet for having greenskins as enemies.

The darkness of the night was eerie; the bright blue moon of Taiga was the only source of light on the dreary planet's surface. Despite the freezing cold weather, the entire Imperial defensive line of Tsorograd was active. The snow had stopped, it was the clearest day that the defenders had seen. Yet the night was quiet, not a single sound was heard.

"Halle, this seems rather strange don't you think?" Lilia said, her long-las directed at the woods.

All she did was nod, her right hand held high in a 'hold fire' stance.

Andre was also focused at the woods, his body balanced against the former pillar of a once huge cathedral.

A soldier was walking by with a tube launcher when Andre asked it from him. The trooper obliged politely.

Lilia looked at the commissar curiously, "Why would you need that sir?"

"Trust me; we're going to need it."

As soon as Andre finished his line the tree-line erupted in a blaze of tank lights.

Unfortunately two looted Russes was not the only armor the greenskins had, there were so many lights that Halle couldn't count past three dozen, "Fire on my order only!"

She heard her soldiers reply in large, responding cries in her vox-bead.

Andre steadied the tube launcher on his shoulder and against the pillar, his focus on the turret of a looted Leman Russ, if he placed his shot correctly, he could take the main cannon out of commission.

Halle stood defiantly, her hand still raised in the air as the line of ork armor began to make their approach. The soldiers of 6th Company held their ground, awaiting the eminent attack.

Halle formed her hand into a fist in the air and the mortars began to fire their deadly payloads. The resounding mortars were soon joined by the electrical zap of lascannons. The combined power crippled and even destroyed a few of the armored vehicles, but it was not enough.

A sound compared to a clap of thunder echoed through the river valley clods of dirt and rubble flew up into the air as a tank shell exploded into the wall behind the line of guardsmen.

Halle dropped her hand and 6th company lit up with heavy gunfire.

Andre held the launcher steadied and slowly squeezed the trigger, the rocket zoomed into the side of the battle cannon ripping the main weapon apart.

Lilia saw what the commissar had done and yelled into the vox-bead, "Take out the main weapon first, and the tank should be easy prey!"

Valhallan troopers with missile launchers began to get into positions, their sights directed at the main battle cannon.

* * *

Villisan Mockov ran behind his fellow comrade, Gregory Ferasen. He loaded a rocket into the launcher, "Gregory, don't fire until I tell you!"

Gregory was a new recruit who had arrived with the fresh batch of reinforcements and he was very nervous. "Sir, could you say that one more time?"

"Fire only when I tell you!"

He nervously nodded, "That's what I thought you said…" Gregory steadied his aim.

A looted Leman Russ was headed in their direction, its guns blazing in a frenzy of fire, "Not yet!"

The tank was just a few meters away when Villisan tapped Gregory's shoulder. The Valhallan soldier popped out from behind the rubble and fired his rocket into the muzzle of the battle cannon.

The vehicle exploded in a brilliant display of orange and yellow.

Villisan ran up to Gregory who had been knocked over by the explosion, "Ha ha! Gregs! Are you alright!"

The trooper had the launcher hugged tightly to his body, "Yeah, I hear ringin' in my ears."

"Right! Let's go!" He helped the young soldier up and ran to the next street.

* * *

Halle and Andre ran into a nearby apartment, an ork trukk was parked outside with its big shoota pointed in the doorway. Halle signaled a trooper over, "get on the second floor and distract him, when he's out of ammo, cover me!"

The trooper nodded and she ran to the second floor firing shots into the ork vehicle below.

Halle listened closely as the big shoota fired at the second floor above, Halle put a hand on a krak grenade attached to her belt.

She positioned her self against the door, and then the shoota fell silent. Halle kicked down the door and tossed the krak grenade into the truck bed of the crude ork vehicle.

Halle braced herself against the wall when the trukk exploded, she nodded to Andre and they moved out.

Halle yelled into her vox-bead, "Push them back!"

The Valhallan soldiers gave out a cheer when they saw tanks from the 63rd appear behind them.

With guns blazing the combined force of the Valhallan and Armageddon soldiers began to push the greenskins back into the trees.

By the time the Imperial soldiers came into view of their lines, a horde of orks had taken position on the opposite side of the defensive wall.

"6th Company, hold position! Let the armor tear their line open!" Halle yelled as a Vanquisher drove by.

Halle walked slowly behind the tank and covered her ears as the long Gryphonne made vanquisher cannon erupted into life.

Andre and Halle watched as the orks were torn and thrown by the fury of the Steel Legion Armor, "6th Company! Charge!"

With lasguns blazing, the 200 soldiers of 6th company, with support from the 63rd's armor, charged down into the line of greenskins.

With her sword raised, Halle jumped over the wall and charged furiously at an ork nob.

The nob had his axe raised high and began to bring it down when its hands were caught off, sending the axe flying into the ground.

Suddenly struck by its inability to use its hands the ork began attempting to bite Halle's arm off when its head was sent flying by Andre's singing blades.

Back to back, Halle and Andre spun in a circle of death, cutting down any enemy that attempted to come close to the two commanding officers.

The two heard a war cry from the city as 4th Company from the 203rd charged down into the battle below.

With their moral renewed the Valhallan soldiers began to fight harder and with greater ferocity.

As Halle disposed of another ork she looked around and took in the scene that surrounded her.

Time seemed to slow down as she watched what was taking place around her.

Halle witnessed dying orks and falling guardsmen in a death struggle for territory.

She regained her senses when Andre pushed her to the ground as a rocket flew over where she previously stood.

Andre sheathed one of his swords and removed his boltpistol from its holster and began to fire it into the crowd of orks.

Halle took a boltgun from an unfortunate guardsman and began to follow suite.

Andre and Halle looked behind themselves and they saw a Krieg Macharius Vanquisher turn into the street. The turret, armed with a twin-linked vanquisher cannon, turned toward the horde of orks and opened fire.

Greenskins were tossed in all directions when the cannon of the Macharius came to life.

"By the name of the Emperor! Charge!"

With two hands on the handle of her sword, Halle leaped over the rubble and ran straight into a group of orks.

It seemed as if her entire company charged with her, Halle saw the distinctly blue armbands that sixth company wore form a huge charging line. And with that sight, the orks turned and ran.

Andre looked at her, "That's one thegging good start. But I would advise your troops to reload."

Halle nodded, "Keep sharp, soldiers. Reload and rearm, I think that's just a taste of what is to come."


	5. Chapter 4: Darkest Before Dawn

**Chapter 4: Darkest Before Dawn**

**Weather: Light Snows, Fast Winds:::Predicted Temperature: -31°C**

* * *

After the ork armor assault, a slow and gentle snow began to fall. The white powder covered all traces of the battle that took place only hours ago.

Halle stood on top of a wrecked ork trukk and stared through a pair of magnoculars at the eerie silhouette of the tree line.

She took a moment to survey her troops. They were doing what she had ordered them to do: To keep the line armed, but take breaks and form shifts.

Andre walked up behind her, also watching the Imperial line, "In a few minutes, they'll be changing shifts. It as been quite awhile now since that last ork assault."

"Yes," she said, her gaze not moving a single centimeter.

It was very dark. Taiga's moon was beginning to retreat back beneath the horizon; and the star Ciruse, had yet to rise. It was a time commonly known as 'the darkest before dawn.' The darkest before dawn is known by the Imperials as 'the hours of chaos gate.'

Halle hopped down from the wreck and looked behind her watching the moon disappear behind the buildings, "Alright, soldiers, we're in darkest before dawn. Stay sharp."

She then turned in the direction of the officers' quarters, "Lilia, you are in charge. If you don't mind, I need some rest."

"Yes, ma'am. See you in a few." Lilia handed her a data-slate, "You might want to look at that while you're up there, newest news from Visily."

Halle nodded, "Good, call me if I am needed."

"Yes ma'am!"

Andre watched her, "Commander, am I needed?" he asked as she read over the data-sate.

"No, if you do not mind, Andre, I would just like to get some sleep."

"Of course. The Emperor protects."

And with that, Halle departed.

Andre watched her until she entered the door to the building, then he took a mag-light from his belt and walked over to Lilia, "Lilia, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you known Halle?"

"About two years, sir."

Andre nodded.

"Ma'am, this is Sonia from 5th platoon. I have something to report."

"Go ahead Sonia."

Halle was lying in her room, staring up at the ceiling; the data-slate she was given lay unread on her table.

The darkness outside the window was stunning. It seemed as if every light known to man was suddenly shut off.

She took a quick look at the chronometer on her wrist; there was still three more hours before the sun rose.

Anything could happen.

She looked over at the data-slate and picked it up. The information quickly appeared on the screen, it read:

URGENT: TO COMMANDERS IN CHARGE OF THE DEFENSE OF THE CENTRAL SECTION OF TSOROGRAD...IMMINENT ATTACK: POSSIBLE OCCURRENCE BETWEEN 0400 AND 0600. COMMANDERS ARE ADVISED TO KEEP SCOUTS ON HIGH ALERT.

Halle quickly gazed at her chronometer: 4:48AM

"Thek!" She grabbed her coat and fit her vox-bead into her ear. When she was half-way down the stairs, Lilia spoke, "Commander, Sonia Velsin of 5th platoon has spotted minor movement in the tree line. We are predicting a possible attack on our position."

"Copy that, Lilia, I am on my way!"

As Halle walked out of the building, a large ork 'waaagh' rang throughout the valley. Though not very visible, she could see a horde of orks running across the plain.

Instantaneously, the super mag-lights, stationed on the roofs, came on and shined on the oncoming orks.

Snipers and sharpshooters began to fire at the tide and were soon joined by the low rumbling of autocannons and lascannons.

Andre ran to Halle and led her to the front where Lilia was directing the defense, "Watch your flanks! Fire once they enter the kill zone!"

Halle put a hand on Lilia's shoulder, "I've got it from here."

Lilia nodded and quickly grabbed her long-las and aimed at the horde.

"Okay boys and girls you know the drill, let's keep these orks at bay. Shall we?"

The soldiers of 6th Company steadied their weapons against the rockcrete wall in front of them and their lasguns remained silent.

Halle watched the ork charge, the super mag-lights providing a source of light to see their oncoming enemy.

Suddenly, the lights when off one at a time in a random pattern, she overheard someone stationed on the roof, "Thek! Grot snipers!"

Halle watched as one mag-light at a time was shot out, "Scouts, could you locate those snipers?"

"Yes ma'am, orders?"

"Eliminate them."

As the lights continued to go out one at a time, Halle saw the muzzle-flashes from the grot sniper rifles which were quickly hit by a single bolt from the barrel of a long-las.

Though the snipers were eliminated, only a few lights were left intact.

Halle walked parallel to the wall yelling out, "Keep your weapons hot! Target the muzzle flashes!"

As Halle instructed her troops, Andre walked down the line inspiring the Valhallan troops, "Brothers and sisters! The Emperor is with you! Keep him in your hearts until death and you will be guaranteed a place by his side!" Andre stopped and drew his two blades, "Look at these savage beasts! Why not share our plan of retribution with them?"

The mag-lights streamed one more time over the charge and then the Imperials opened fire.

Red las-beams cut through the air as the soldiers discharged their payloads.

"Keep that fire steady, comrades! Keep up a nice, hot masking fire!"

The light of las-shots filled the nighttime sky as the Imperials fought desperately to hold off the ork assault.

Thankfully, with better established comm. lines, artillery support from the 63rd's basilisks was now available. Lilia looked through a pair of magnoculars to look at the oncoming force, "Target! Coordinates: seven, nine, three, three!"

Lilia faintly heard an Armageddon officer, "Roger! Shot over!"

There was a series of low rumbles followed by the scream of oncoming shells, the orks scattered in panic.

"Target! Coordinates: seven, nine, three seven!"

"Roger! Shot over!"

Another series of mild rumbles shook the comm. link, and again they were faithfully followed by the scream of artillery shells.

"Lilia, keep that artillery coming!"

"Yes ma'am!" Lilia watched as the orks scattered back into their previous charge, "Target! Coordinates: seven, nine, three, nine!"

"Roger! Shot over!"

Lilia watched again as the volley smashed into the ork ranks.

"Ma'am, we are rearming and restocking on shells, estimated time to next volley, 20 minutes."

"Roger that."

Andrew had sheathed his blades after the first volley of shells successfully struck their intended targets. His Valhallan made MK. XIII boltgun firing bursts of bullets into the oncoming horde of greenskins.

Soon after he began firing into the orks, he was joined by Halle, "Ah, Captain, how are our ranks fairing? Fine I hope."

"Yes," She said firing a few rounds into the night, "We're holding well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we can pull this off."

"With plenty of prayer, and favor from the Emperor himself, anything is possible, Captain."

Halle turned and smiled, but soon a huge explosion echoed through the valley and rising to the north-west of their current position, a column of flame began to rise.


	6. Chapter 5: A Break from the Storm

**Chapter 5: A Break From the Storm**

**Weather: Light Snows, Fast Winds:::Predicted Temperature: -34°C**

* * *

Andre stood up and looked at the huge column of flame, "What in the Emperor's name was that?"

"Don't stop firing, I'll handle this," Halle said as she attempted to raise the commander of the NW front.

"This is Cadian Officer Derrick Vicen, reporting in the stead of Captain Johnson. To whom may I ask is speaking?"

"This is Captain Halle Heredovich of the 203rd Valhallan, what the hell just happened over there?"

There was a pause filled with static, "It was a move we weren't expecting Ma'am, according to soldiers, an ork drove a trukk straight into the defensive line. Apparently it was a suicide attack. The trukk has caused tremendous damage to the line and we are struggling to repair it. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated."

"I understand, I'll send a few squads right away."

"May the Emperor bless you."

"You as well my friend," Halle switched channels on her comm. bead, "Squad two from platoon one, I would like for you to take a chimera and move immediately to the north-western front. Assist our Cadian comrades in any way possible."

"Yes Comrade-Captain."

The sun finally began to ascend from the horizon, revealing the darkness that had previously consumed the land.

But the green tide kept coming; they seemed that they have prolonged the attack for this long. Why stop now?

The fighting went on for another three hours, neither side reaching any foothold whatsoever. At this particular moment in time, the battle remained a stalemate.

Halle entered a dugout bunker carved from the permafrost and frozen dirt. She poured herself some vodivilisk and looked at the map stretched across the table in the room. This small dugout recently completed a few days ago, now was the operations center for the 203rd Valhallans 6th Company.

Andre followed her in, and walked towards the table, "How are the Cadians?"

"They're in terrible condition, one entire squad was lost in the explosion and three squads lost more than half of their men. Their line now has a huge gap caused by the crater of the explosion and if they can't restore the defensive line soon, it opens a hole that'll allow the orks right through. I'm keeping squad two there permanently until the Cadians receive sufficient reinforcements."

"Captain, Halle, remember. We aren't receiving any reinforcements anymore."

"Yes, sadly, I'm well aware, that's why I'm sending squad one from P-one as well," Halle said with a heavy sigh. She stared at the map, "We'll have to compensate for removing 1st and 2nd squad. I'm going to stretch 4th and 5th squad into the gap and give them two scouts for one and an extra autocannon for the other. It'll be enough for now."

Andre nodded slowly, "Any new information on that offensive in the West?"

"No, nothing new yet. As far as we officers know, that attack hasn't started."

"What about Landergrasse?" Andre asked nervously.

"It's gotten worse. Those greenskins have started to heavily shell the city and now they've begun to attack Moskvin as well though not in as much force as Landergrasse. Thank the Emperor, since the only troops there are poorly equipped PDFs."

"How did they hold then?" Andre asked, with a slightly impressed tone.

Halle chuckled, and looked up from the table, "Well, according to intel, there's an officer there showing quite some promise. He tricked the orks into running straight through the city's main street where he lined up all of his troops and heavy weapons and annihilated the ork force."

"Sounds like the strategy you used on Euthien against the tyranids right?"

"Yes, it does. Great minds think alike I assume."

* * *

Colonel Sugechov stepped out onto a balcony that overlooked the defensive line. It was only a few stories off of the ground, but it provided a perfect vantage point for seeing his forces. He had been very proud of his regiment's performance so far on the battlefield, but if the casualties continued to mount at the same rate, they wouldn't last before the reinforcements were scheduled to arrive five weeks from now.

The offensive in the West had begun a week earlier, and they had run into more resistance than expected. But, the Lord-General wouldn't let his forces in the East fall apart, so he would send them reinforcements if the offensive wasn't successful in the estimated two month time period.

But of course, plans have their drawbacks, and so far the orks have thrown a lot more at them than they had originally found. Some of the tech they have has gone past what even the Commissariat had imagined.

Sugechov, though, promised himself that he wouldn't die here. His younger brother was part of the 657th Valhallan fighting for New Mockba. So far, neither of them had died, and Sugechov wanted to keep it that way.

Sugechov sighed, _I pray to you, my Emperor, that you will grant my brother and me a safe campaign. But if either of us lose our lives, I know that it is your will and your will be done._

After Sugechov had finished his quick prayer, he heard a knock on his door, his immediate subordinate, Talias Fusonik, peaked into his room, "Sir? There's a message on the line from Colonel Harris. He wishes to speak with you."

Talias was a bright, young woman. She provided Sugechov with a wonderful and, in his opinion, a rather beautiful right hand officer. He promoted her to the position from captain of 6th company after her outstanding performance in the defense of Port Wilkes on Antanaviano during the Sulis Campaign.

"Yes, of course," Sugechov nodded and put on his Valhallan military visor cap and followed Talias into the command room, "Colonel Sugechov speaking."

Sugechov could make out the Cadian officer through the small bits of static accompanying the message, "Ah, Sebastian, I would like to thank your captain for sending some forces to help my soldiers rebuild the line."

"Excuse me?"

"Your 6th Company's Captain sent a few squads over to help with my line. I greatly appreciate it."

"Hold on David," Sugechov looked at Talias, "Did we approve of that?"

"Yes sir, we informed you. Apparently you had forgotten."

"Must've had a bit too much of that Vostroyan rhazvod," He returned to the vox, "Ah, I see, you are welcome. Captain Heredovich is quite a find you see. She has a very good background. But she is fairing very well, I'm quite proud of her progress."

"I looked up her dossier, according to the records she was promoted from sergeant to captain, is that correct?"

"Yes, that is accurate. I did so after Talias became my subordinate. Captain Heredovich performed admirably in the defense of Port Wilkes."

"Tell her that Captain Johnson sends his gratitude, he was just released from the medicae after that incident with the trukk."

Sugechov nodded, "I understand, I'll tell her."

"Sebastian, between the Colonels, what do you think are our chances of survival? I've been working out the math and if the orks keep hitting us like this, we won't hold this part of the city for another week."

"I know, David, it's grim news, but we can't lose this city. The entire battle group is counting in us. If we fail in holding the city, everyone will be massacred."

"Reminds me of a story I had heard from the Vostroyan Colonel Kizov, before he died at Landergrasse. Except, we are in quite better conditions than what he told me about."

"Emperor willing, we'll hold. And that offensive in Mockba will be over soon."

* * *

Sergeant Vladimir Talichnikov rubbed his hands together in an attempt to keep them warm. He watched the tree line carefully; any suspicious movements would be immediately reported back to command. I slight fear ran through his veins, _Baneblades! And now suicide bomb trukks? What else can these greenskins think of!_

He took a quick breath, moving his hands over his mouth, and looked up at the sky, he cursed the snow as became thicker and the winds began to howl. He took one last glance at the tree line before it was covered behind a wall of snow.

"Sergeant, have you seen any movement?" Asked his superior, Lilia Ivanov.

"No, ma'am, but the snow has gotten considerably thicker."

"Right, keep your eyes peeled though."

"Yes, ma'am," Talichnikov responded, continuing to rub his hands together.

"Cold, Vladi?" asked Rina Lisikov, the special weapons officer of Talichnikov's squad. She sat on the ground opposite him, her plasma gun resting in her lap.

"You bet," He said as he turned to face her. Rina is one of the most beautiful Valhallan women he'd seen; short brown hair and dark indigo eyes. Her eyes were very mysterious; whenever you looked her in the eyes it seemed as if she could pierce your soul with her gaze.

Naturally, as a Valhallan man, he'd get her in bed and have her bear his child. Many have tried, but she was one heck of a firecracker. Vladimir had actually tried a few nights ago by getting her drunk on rhazvod, but it made her even more irate than before. If anyone was going to have her, she would have to agree to it first. Strangely enough, unlike most of her other female comrades, she retained her virginity like their Captain, Halle Heredovich.

Talichnikov had his suspicions though. She seemed rather attached to that new commissar, but that was just speculation of course.

Vladimir sat next to Rina, handing her his canteen, "Vodivilisk?"

Rina declined, "No thanks, I'd much rather be sober while I fight."

"But there's nothing to fight!" Vladimir said indignantly.

"Yeah there is," she punched his arm, "You! I know you tried to get me that other night!"

"How did you know?"

"Hah! You admitted it! I knew you tried!" Rina laughed.

"Wait, you tricked me!"

Rina chuckled getting up and looking down the line, "You won't get me Vladi! I'll tell you that!"

Vivan Loskovich watched the two, "Hey, hey you two! Stop fooling around."

Vivan was the squad's sniper, and also acted as the 'big sister' to the other three women in the squad.

"You especially Vladi! It's like you can't get enough of your share of women."

He simply shrugged, "What else can a man do?"

"Kill the enemy," Rina retorted.

"Are you saying that I haven't killed a single ork?"

"Yes, I am, I saved you in that last attack, if it weren't for my plasma gun, you'd be dead right now."

Vladimir smiled, "True, very true."

* * *

Sergeant Mockov sat against the snowy wall of the defensive line, watching Private Gregory 'Gregs' Ferasen who kept a steady hand on his Valhallan MK. V rocket launcher.

Ever since Gregs's run-in with that ork Leman Russ, he was ever cautious with his launcher. In the same battle alone, he destroyed two trukks and another Russ. Mockov had to say that the boy had evolved from the skittish 'freshmen' he had come in as, "Gregs, you see anything?"

"No, not yet at least, it seems like the orks are regrouping for another attack. It's very quiet."

Mockov could sense his slight uneasiness, "Anything on your mind, boy?"

Ferasen slightly nodded, "I miss my family back home."

"Yeah, you'll get used to it. I was like that when I first joined the Guard."

"And I hope she's safe."

"Who may I ask?"

"This girl, Deriah Visikov, she's part of the 197th Vostroyan. They were sent to New Mockba for the offensive. I met her on the cruiser on the way here."

"You like her, Ferasen?"

"Yes, I do. I just hope she's ok."

"Just look at like this, Gregs, she could've been sent to Landergrasse. She'd be dead by now if she was there. Trust me."

Gregs silently laughed and took a seat next to his superior, "How long have you been in the Guard, sir?"

Villisan laughed, "Me? I've been part of this regiment for seven years and don't regret a single minute of it."

"Do you miss home?"

"Of course, I don't know a single soul who doesn't miss home. I named my las-rifle after my daughter, Kilia. It reminds me of why I'm fighting, what I'm fighting for."

Gregory nodded silently.

* * *

Halle stared through her magnoculars, "Hmm, oddly there isn't any movement in the trees. It's like the orks are gone."

"It may seem that way, captain, but never assume anything," the Commissar said, "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

Halle didn't let her gaze be diverted a centimeter. She simply nodded and continued to watch the trees.

Andre watched the tree line as well, "It's nice to have a break though, you have to admit that."

Halle looked at him, "Yeah, I'll admit that." She removed her plasma pistol from its holster and examined it, checking for any defects on the weapon. Afterward, she unsheathed her power sword and checked its wires, power cell, and rune, "This sword has saved my life countless times, Andre, I'm glad you gave it to me."

Andre solemnly nodded, "That sword was crafted specifically to my standards. It better be a good sword!"

Halle smiled, "It is, don't worry about that!"

They shared a quick smile.

"It still bothers me that the orks are still eerily quiet."

"Me too, Captain. Me too."

Halle turned her eyes back toward the tree line, _What in the Emperor's Name are they doing? What can they possibly be waiting for?_

* * *

Lilia was standing on the hill overlooking the trees, with her scope magnified at its highest; she stared at the wooden fortress. Not a single thing moved. The only assumption she could make is that the greenskins had retreated deeper into the woods to regroup and rearm.

The size of this ork Waaagh! was startling. It wasn't Lilia's first encounter with orks, but the force she fought was just a rabble compared to this. There had to a Warboss amongst those orken ranks. The attacks were too coordinated and too large to be the work of some regular nob.

One thing was certain. Halle, as well as herself knew this; that if the orks continued their steady assaults, the northeastern part of Tsorograd would be lost.

The fact left a feeling of uneasiness in her mind.

Lilia looked through her rifle scope again, but there was no movement. The trees were still, absent of any suspicious activities. She sat down, hugging her rifle tightly.

She missed home...

Taiga reminded her so much of Valhalla, and Tsorograd reminded her if her own home city: Dovesgrad. Lilia wondered how her mother was, how she was fairing since both her husband AND daughter were drafted into the Guard.

Lilia never met her father. He was drafted a few days before she was born, so she grew up without a father figure. But she dearly loved her mother. There hasn't been a day that has gone by in which Lilia hadn't thought of her mother and her mother's health and safety.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when special weapons trooper Kilov Novisik approached her, "Ma'am, what are you doing here? This is no place for an officer of you ranking!"

Lilia got up and smiled, "I'm fine right here, thanks for the concern though, Kilov."

Kilov gave her a quick salute, "Even so, commander."

Lilia looked at the rugged man, his meltagun slung around his back.

She replayed a memory from the battle on Euthien against the tyranids. Kilov covered his squad as they retreated into the buildings, his meltagun turning every foe that came at him into nothing. The man was one that put his squad before others, and that earned him the spot as HQ special arms.

Lilia smiled at him, "Come, its best that we reported to Halle and Andre."


	7. Chapter 6: Returning to the Fight

**Chapter 6: Returning to the Fight**

**Weather: Heavy Snows, Moderate Wind:::Predicted Temperature: -37°C**

* * *

Andre looked through his magnoculars and saw the first hints of movement in the trees, "It looks like they're back. It won't be long until they begin their assault."

"I can see them too," Lilia said as she confirmed the movements with her long-las's scope.

Halle opened all of the channels on her vox bead, "All squads prepared for attack." She paused slightly, "Squads one and two at the Cadian line how are things over there?"

"We'll be fine, commander, the Cadians are preparing for the attack and we're sure as hell we can hold them off."

"That's good to hear."

Halle removed her pistol from its holster, shoving a fresh power cell into the chamber. She then unsheathed her power sword, the blade shining in the bright sun. She pressed the activation rune and the sword hissed with energy.

Andre removed his swords, Retribution and Judgment, from their sheaths on his back and smiled brightly, "I hope we can fit in some close combat today, my blades are purring with eagerness."

"As s my rifle, Commissar," Lilia responded, lying down in the deep snow, steadying her long-las against a piece of broken metal.

The orks poured from the forest in a huge tide of green, screaming with bloodlust as they ran towards the Imperial Line.

Halle screamed into the vox bead, "For the Emperor!"

* * *

Mockov loaded a rocket into Ferasen's launcher and tapped his shoulder. The private fired a fragmentation rocket into the crowd of orks, tearing a hole into the wave of green.

Seconds later, Gregory felt another tap on his shoulder and he fired his launcher again. He watched as the orks trampled their wounded and dying, it seemed their only objective was to tear apart the humans.

The tow med quickly put down their rocket gear and armed themselves with their lasguns, "Sarge! I've gotten two with my las shots already!"

Mockov chuckled, "I've gotten four, boy! You'll have to do better then that!"

* * *

Sergeant Talichnikov fired his las-pistol into the horde, making sure every shot he made counted. He held his chainsword close, at the rate the orks were moving, close combat would be inevitable.

He chanced a quick glance at Rina who had her plasma gun bearing down on the enemy, each plasma bolt taking down an ork. Vladimir laughed to himself, _That girl can be one mean special weapons operator._

Over the vox he heard, "Here they come! Hold the line!"

Vladimir fired a shot that went straight through an ork's cranium and yelled, "For the Emperor!"

Rina had not flinched a single centimeter, standing her ground with her plasma gun searing and burning ork flesh at point blank range. She was fast, but not fast enough. She turned to face an ork, its huge blade held high above its head ready to hack Rina in two.

Out of nowhere, Vladimir jumped in front of her. He kicked the ork's knee causing it to bend over and placed his chainsword into its stomach. She heard him say 'Piece of crap' and he revved his sword to full power. Blood sprayed everywhere and the hot smell of entrails exploded in her nose. Vladimir pulled his sword from the ork's limp body covered in blood and said with a wink, "We're even."

Rina followed Vladimir into the thick of fighting, covering him as he hacked down ork after ork. When her plasma gun's cell went dry, Rina unsheathed her combat knife as an ork charged at her. Knife held high, she leapt at the greenskin and drove her knife into its cranium, unsheathing her boot knife and stabbing it into its neck. The ork soon fell limp.

* * *

The fighting was tremendously fierce. Guardsmen and ork tangled with each other in a chaotic death struggle.

Lilia, a sniper, was ill-equipped for close combat and used her rifle as a type of club. She ran at in ork, hitting it first with the stock of her rifle, following a technique she learned in close combat training. After striking it a few times with her rifle, she took a step back and fired two point-blank shots into the ork's sternum, killing it instantly.

Lilia turned and saw an ork ready to kill a fellow Guardsman. She couldn't waste time to reload her las-rifle, so she removed the knife she had from its boot scabbard and threw it into the back of the orks head.

The greenskin pulled the blade from its head and turned to the officer, but before it could make a move a shot went through its brain.

Lilia helped the Guardsman up and picked up the bloody blade from the snow.

He saluted her and ran back into the fray.

Lilia watched an ork stikk bomb land at her feet; with fast reflexes she threw the grenade into a mob of orks to find that the weapon, for once, wasn't a dud.

* * *

When the orks had been only a few meters away from the line, Andre had jumped straight into the ork mob, his swords singing their deadly song.

The first ork felled by Retribution and Judgment was impaled through the stomach as it ran into the Imperial line.

Andre looked to his left and right; two orks were coming straight at him. He ran to his left and sliced the ork's stomach open, jumping as the second ork came at him. Andre brought one of his blades down and with a loud crunch, split its skull into it two.

The orks were determined to kill the Commissar.

Andre threw his sword and killed an ork; he then did single fast spin cutting all the orks around him in half. Afterward, he pulled his blade out of the ork's body and sheathed one of his swords to draw out his bolt pistol.

He fired into the orks with his pistol and defended himself with his sword. Every shot Andre fired tore fist sized holes into the greenskin's flesh with the occasional exploding head. The Commissar was a force to be reckoned with.

As he rehosltered his pistol, he pulled a grenade from his belt and tossed it. Andre was rewarded with a satisfying explosion and seeing half a dozen orks blown into the air.

* * *

Novisik pumped his 12-gauge shotgun and turned to a charging ork. He side-stepped to dodge the ork's blade and fired a shot into the ork's face, blowing it apart.

Seconds later, an ork was so close that Novisik could smell its breath. And with a bit of pressure from the trigger, the ork was no more spraying blood onto his face. He pumped his shotgun again and fired his shotgun into the group of orks. After he fired his last shell, he took his meltagun from his back.

He ran into the crowd of orks and released the super-heated contents of his meltagun. All the orks he fired at were immediately turned into molten slag. Not a single ork in the group he attacked was left.

He put his meltagun back on his back and reloaded his shotgun. He ran to save a Guardsman's life, pressing the barrel of the gun against the back of the ork's head and blowing the skull apart.

Novisik stood up and let ork after ork charge at him, felling each one with a powerful shot from his shotgun.

* * *

Halle's plasma pistol was wreaking havoc in the ork ranks, each shot taking a greenskin down with the power of super-heated plasma. She stood with a few other Guardsmen around her. Each with a lasgun, bayonet attached.

Halle yelled into the vox bead, "Don't let up, guys! They're still coming!"

As the orks charged towards their commander, the five Guardsmen formed a line in front of their commander, prepared to defend Halle to the last.

Halle holstered her pistol and held her sword with both hands and waited for them to come at her.

The soldiers fired a volley and charged into the orks. Halle followed them into the combat. She slashed an ork across the neck, and turned in time to see one of the Guardsman fall to an ork blade.

Fire burned in her heart, and she ran at the ork that felled the guardsman jumping in the air and bringing her blade down onto the ork's head. In a heated fury, Halle turned to an oncoming greenskin and stabbed her blade through its stomach and pulling the blade up through the ork's head.

She stabbed her sword into an ork nob, killing it, but getting her blade stuck within its crude armored plates. She picked up a dead soldier's lasgun, bayonet still attached. Halle turned in time to throw the lasgun into the sternum of an oncoming ork.

Halle pulled her blade free and struck another ork, slicing off its appendage. She took her pistol from its holster and fired a shot into the greenskin's head.

Halle took her combat knife and threw it into another charging greenskin. And simultaneously, while pulling out her combat knife from its chest, she killed the ork with her sword to its stomach.

* * *

Lilia was able to ease her way out of the close-combat and began to pick off the last few orks one by one with her long-las. She took a quick overview of the battle; the Imperials were putting up one hell of a fight. The orks were getting hacked down by the bayonets and swords of the Guard.

After the battle the line reformed and Lilia, Halle, and Andre met in the 6th company's command dugout.

"How bad?" Lilia asked with a hint of worry.

Halle shook her head, "We lost too many."

Andre looked at the map, "Emperor have mercy, we won't hold for another week. I expected we'd hold longer."

"Captain, the Colonel's on the line," Lilia said handing her the vox.

"Captain Heredovich speaking."

"Yes, Captain, I heard the situation and we're pulling in the reserves we have to your position seeing as you're line appears to be the one that continues to be hit hard."

"How many would that be?"

"Only ten, but it's better than nothing, Captain."

"Thank you, Colonel."

"One more thing, Captain, are you alright?"

"Yes sir, I'm fine."

Andre looked at Lilia, Lilia shrugged.

When she was finished, Halle hung up the vox and poured herself a cup of vodivilisk. She sat herself in the chair and began to gently rub her head.

Andre looked at her, "Are you alright, Captain?"

Halle simply nodded, "Yes, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

Andre looked at Lila and guided her out, saying as he left that dugout, "Take care, Captain."

* * *

Andre sat in his room, he was sitting at his table cleaning his two blades of the dark blood the covered their edges. When he was finished he took both his boltgun and bolt pistol apart and cleaned them of the cordite residue.

He drank down a cup of Vostroyan rhazvod. And turned to the window, the snow was still falling heavily.

Andre continued to watch the snow. His memory of the first time he met Halle replayed in his mind. He could remember the battle of Tilankes Plains, during the Valetron Campaign they were both part of 126th Valhallan. Halle was just a purely fresh guardsman, but she took her position very seriously.

Andre had just come out of his last battle; he was already a veteran when Halle made planetfall. The Valetron campaign was one of the bloodiest campaigns the Imperium has known. A new guardsman's lifespan after planetfall on one of the Valetron system's planets was a mere seven hours, which was very believable with the ferocity of the heretics that they fought.

Andre had taken her under his watchful eye, thankful that she was finally moved to his squad. Though she was the only woman, she fit in very well. After the planet was cleansed, Andre learned the reason why she was moved into his squad. Her original squad was massacred, not a single one survived but her.

He learned from their Colonel that they found her on top of a hill, holding off a squad of cultists with only a laspistol and a knife. She seemed to have been infuriated by her squad's untimely death, because she killed fourteen cultists before another squad found her and pulled her out.

Over the course of the next six battles they fought together, Andre had grown somewhat attached to her. In a way, you cold say that he was in love with Halle, but conveying his feelings to her didn't seem to feel right, not at the time at least.

Even now, he wasn't sure what to do. The only thing he was worrying about was that his feelings would cloud his judgment. But so far, that hasn't happened yet.

He poured himself another cup of rhazvod and picked up his pistol, examining the weapon. Andre had executed only two men so far during his term as a Commissar. He gave many of the soldiers a second chance, and afterward his soldiers fought harder than before.

He perched his feet up on the table, drinking his rhazvod when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in."

Halle peeked her head in, "Hey, Andre, may I come in."

He put his feet down off of the table, "Of course, Captain, you're always welcome here."


	8. Chapter 7: Unforseen Circumstances

**Chapter 7: Unforeseen Circumstances**

**Weather: Light Snows, Fast Winds:::Predicted Temperature: -35°C**

* * *

Andre offered Halle a seat opposite him. He folded his arms, "What is it, Captain?"

"I just needed some company," Halle responded in a slightly feeble way, she took the seat he offered her.

Andre handed her a cup, "Vodivilisk, joiliq, amasec...Which one would you like?"

"Rhazvod, please."

Andre was slightly stunned; Halle wasn't one who liked the strong alcoholic drinks. There had only been one time in which he remembered her drinking rhazvod and that was after her incident during the Valetron Campaign.

He poured her a bit and sat back down, drinking down what was left in his cup, "Are you sure you're okay, Halle? I'm not asking as your political officer, but as your friend."

Halle shook her head and managed a slight, "No..."

Andre gently folded his arms, "Well? What's wrong then, Halle?"

She looked up at him, "I can see their faces..."

"I know what you mean, I can see the faces of all those I killed-."

Halle cut him off, "No, not that. I can see the faces of all those comrades I lost. Those who died under my responsibility, my command."

Andre put his cup down, and slightly leaned forward, "Captain, that's not something you can prevent. You can't determine who gets shot and why. It just happens. And you can't stop it. Remember it's all the Emperor's doing."

The building shook slightly and Andre got up, he made his way to the window when the building shook again, except a bit stronger, "What in the Emperor's name was that?"

Halle picked up her equipment and began to jog her way down the stairs, the building occasionally shaking. Andre was close behind her when the roof collapsed.

Halle slowly got up, reaching her hands out to steady herself. She found a peace of rubble and used it to prop herself up, coughing as she did so. She could hear through the settling dust, "Captain! Are you alright?" She heard a series of coughs and Andre emerged from the dust, "Are you okay, Captain?"

Halle nodded, "You got a way out of here, Commissar?"

Andre nodded, "Yes, lucky the cave in didn't block the way out."

He took her by the arm and guided her outside where Lilia was waiting.

"Captain!" Lilia yelled over the thunderous sound of oncoming shells, "The orks have begun shelling our main positions and we're expecting an attack at any moment, but right now all of our forces are dug in at the trenches!"

Halle nodded, making her way through the slightly deep snow.

Explosions erupted around her, yet Halle kept herself straight and firm until she jumped into the closest trench.

Kilov Novisik ran down the line in a half-crouched run, making sure that all of the Imperial were safe and under cover.

The ork barrage was quite a surprise to Halle, either the orks just got the artillery, or they just built in that small amount of time in which there was no ork activity whatsoever.

Either way, she didn't like it.

Halle took out her magnoculars from her belt and looked into the distance, "Lilia, do we have artillery support?"

Lilia yelled through the vox-bead, "Yes, Ma'am! The 63rd's second artillery battery is standing by! Orders?"

"Target: eight, four, one, nine! Tell them to fire four volleys, in increasing degrees of ten!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

* * *

Mikail Taliatamnikov hurried to his gunner's autocannon nest with a box of rounds hugged in his arms; he could hear Vladi Susinovsky at a distance, "Hurry Mikail!"

When he reached the nest he hastily installed a magazine into the large heavy weapon, "Okay, Vladi, she's armed and ready!"

Vladi cocked the weapon and handed some magnoculars to Mikail, "Spot for me, Mikail."

Mikail nodded, "There's not anything yet!"

"Yes, but there will be soon, I promise you that!"

Vladi and Mikail were moved to 5th squad platoon one from the reserve to help fill the gap caused by the transfer of squads one and two. He had seen quite a lot of action since his transfer and he had adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Mikail tapped his shoulder, "I think I see something. They look like ork trukks and they're moving very fast!"

Vladi eased his fingers onto the autocannon's trigger, "How far are they, Mikail?"

"Wait a few more minutes; they'll be in the kill zone soon."

Private Ferasen pulled his launcher up until it rested on his shoulder, staring through the scope at an oncoming ork trukk. There were hundreds of the small and speedy ork vehicles. How the orks built so many was a mystery.

Mockov tapped his shoulder signaling him to fire, he pulled the trigger and the rocket flew towards the trukk.

Ferasen watched as the rocket made contact with the front of the ork trukk. The trukk made a spectacular explosion, the resulting shockwave knocking Gregs and Mockov to the ground. Mockov helped Gregs up, "Bomb trukks!"

He loaded another rocket into the launcher, "We have to take those trukks out!"

Ferasen nodded and fired another rocket, docking as the rocket made impact.

The two could hear Captain Heredovich through their vox-beads, "Hell! Take down those trukks in the name of the Emperor! We can't let them get close!"

Rockets, mortars, and grenades began to fly in a desperate attempt to hold off the charging ork vehicles.

* * *

Andre picked up his bolt gun that he kept inside 6th company's dugout and aimed it at the oncoming trukks.

He fired a burst of solid bullets...They hit the ork causing his trukk to careen into the nearest one, both trukks were engulfed in the resulting explosion.

Andre slowly lowered his rifle and he realized the truth, _We won't be able to stop all of them…_ He began to fire again and yelled, "Fight! Fight in the name of the Emperor!"

Halle ran to Andre and stopped, she nodded to him and he continued to fire, "Immediate orders from the Colonel," She said through all channels, "All forces begin an immediate retreat into the city," Halle paused for a moment, "all rocket and missile infantry remain. Destroy as many trukks as you can, then retreat into the city."

Minutes went by...

"Missile Crew 1, orders received and understood."

"Missile Crew 5, we stand true Comrade-Captain."

"Missile Crew 6, we serve the Emperor, Captain!"

One by one the ten missile crews responded to their captain. Halle had never been more proud of her soldiers then now. They were doing exactly what she expected of them: Loyal soldiers of the Imperium. She opened the channels of the ten crews, "I appreciate all of you for doing this, I expect to see you all soon."

Halle could hear Sergeant Mockov's distinct voice, "Don't worry, Captain, we'll give 'em hell and report to you when it's all over."

Vladi began to disassemble his autocannon, while Mikail gathered the ammo into a metal carrying case. Vladi slung the cannon's barrel around his back and yelled to Mikail, "C'mon! Help me with this!"

Mikail ran over to him and attached the box to the bottom of the autocannon's body and grabbed a carrying handle, "Got it!"

"Alright! Let's go!"

The two sprinted towards the city, the autocannon in between them. There was a designated spot that they had called their 'secondary defense.' It was in a ruined three story building. They would set up their autocannon on a second story window.

They entered the building and made a rush for the stairs, when they got to their window the gently dropped the cannon and Vladi began to set up the gun. Mikail began to load the magazines.

After Vladi had finished he looked through a pair of mangoculars, "Wow, those guys are giving those orks a hard time!"

Mikail snapped the magazine in, "Really!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't any orks left for us to kill."

* * *

Mockov loaded another rocket into the launcher, "Looks like we're staying boy. Let's kill as many greenskins as we can and, Emperor willing, we'll drink to it tonight!"

Ferasen smiled, "Right sir!"

He fired another missile, destroying another bomb trukk.

Before he could fire another, Kilov came to him, "Private! This is for you! It came in today and I'm sorry I didn't get it to you earlier!" He said patting his back, "Good luck!"

Mockov loaded another rocket, "It's a data-letter for you, Gregs. You want me to read it out load to you?"

Ferasen smiled gain, "Who is It from?" He asked firing and destroying another trukk.

"It's from your girl," Mockov said loading another rocket, "Well? Do you want me to or not?"

Gregs fired, "I'll read it when we're finished here!"

Mockov smiled, "Good man," He looked down at their stock of rockets, "Only a few more, Gregs!"

He nodded, but in a matter of nana-seconds an ork bomb trukk appeared in front of them ramping over the parapet. One thought went through his mind, _Damn it..._

The trukk exploded and everything went black...

* * *

Josef Yurinov tapped Alina Zakehev's shoulder, "Last rocket, Alina! After that, we're out of here!"

Alina nodded and stared through the scope, she fired and the rocket zoomed forward. Seconds after the rocket left the tube, Alina slung the launcher around her shoulder and armed her lasgun, "C'mon, Josef, let's go!"

He picked up his lasgun and the sprinted towards the nearby building.

Snow erupted around them as ork big shootas began to fire in their direction. They ran through the door and ran into a nearby room, the bullets slamming into the building's rockcrete wall.

They were both breathing heavily. Josef turned to her and smiled slightly, "Made it..."

Alina smiled letting the launcher fall from shoulder.

Josef moved toward her, as he did she pulled him by his greatcoat into a deep kiss.

Sergeant Lieka Vasikov passed by the door, "Hey! Save that AFTER combat! Arm yourselves! There are plenty of orks to kill out there!"

They smiled and picked up their lasguns, both slamming fresh power packs into the chambers of their guns.

"Oh, and I'm glad you two made it back here alive!"

* * *

Ferasen slowly opened his eyes, a constant ringing erupted in his ears, he couldn't feel anything. He slowly looked up and could barely make out Missile Crew 4 who was dragging him by the arms towards the city. Lisa Kalamov turned every few seconds to fire behind them.

After a few minutes, he eventually regained his sense. Gregs could feel the blood dripping down his face, the ringing in his ears was replaced by the sounds of battle, "D-do you guys have M-Mockov?"

Lisa responded, "He's fine! He made it out okay, but we had to come back and get you!"

Ferasen smiled and fell unconscious.

Gregs began to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. He was what looked like the basement of a building, around him there were dozens of other wounded guardsmen. Ferasen could feel the large bandage wrapped around his forehead.

"Ahh, you're finally awake! Thank the Emperor, for awhile I thought you were dead!"

Mockov smiled at him, his right arm concealed by a large cast, "As you can probably tell, my arm is broken. And with you and that head injury, we'll be out of combat for a long time."

Ferasen chuckled at his comrade, "So, Sergeant, how've you been? And how long have I been out?"

Mockov slightly chuckled, "Well, I got blown down by an explosion caused by Emperor knows how many explosives! I broke my arm and I was bleeding profusely from my head, but other than that I'm quite fine!"

Ferasen laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, very funny..."

"You bet!" Mockov yelled, "Once I'm out of this Emperor-forsaken cast, those orks are mine!"

Ferasen's smile disappeared, "Yeah, I agree, once we're back in action...Let's kick some ork butt!"

* * *

Sugechov and the other three regimental commanders met in silence in the large room that was now serving as their headquarters. A stern look passed between each of them. Lindhoff was the first to say a word, "Reports, all of you."

Renik opened his folder, "At the current rate the orks are attacking, we cannot provide enough artillery support for all fronts. We simply don't have enough guns to do so."

"We aren't having a walk in the park either," said Harris, "the orks have stepped up their attacks on the north-west; most of their armored vehicles are focused on us. We lack the firepower to hold all of them off."

Lindhoff nodded, "Grots have been sniping my men periodically, it's not that we're being attack heavily, the snipers are just destroying my men's moral."

Once Lindhoff was finished, they all turned to Sugechov. The Valhallan colonel had a reputation of being extremely positive in the face of extreme odds. Sugechov just simply nodded and said, "I know each of you look at me and think 'Is this man crazy? We have the numbers; can't he see it's hopeless?' I have one thing to tell each of you. Nothing is hopeless."

He approached the table and opened a map of Tsorograd, "I have a plan, but it calls for all forces to be pulled back to this point here." He indicated the large coliseum once used to entertain the people of Tsorograd. It was now a huge ruin, perfect to stage a defense, Sugechov continued, "The coliseum will be our stronghold. Luckily, it's only about a kilometer away from the bridges. With our remaining forces we can stage a strong defense in a small area."

Renik nodded in agreement, "Sounds sane to me."

Harris smiled lightly, "Let's do it."

Lindhoff nodded, "Well done, colonel."

A mere hour after the Colonels' meeting, the order to move to the coliseum was announced. Andre could sense the apprehensive feeling that floated around the men and women of 6th Company.

He couldn't help but admitting that he felt the same way. The only thing that they were told was to move to the coliseum, no situation report was given, not even to the officers; Andre and Halle included.

Andre couldn't help but believe that the situation wasn't improving, but as the moral officer, he did not voice his opinion to his subordinates.

But he somewhat felt that he didn't need to; it seemed that in some indirect way the soldiers found out he didn't feel right. The silence in which they marched was enough for Andre.

Lilia silently caught up with the commissar, a data-slate clutched loosely in her hand, "Nothing new, well, nothing new that's important. No info on reinforcements either."

Andre looked at her with a grim look on his face, "If they hadn't told us anything yet, that means the situation is bad...and getting worse..." The seasoned commissar had seen such situations before, like the Imperial campaign on Degraloz.

Degraloz was the bloodiest campaign in the Hiberna planets. Taiga, Degraloz, and Valetron are all planets within the Hiberna system.

Degraloz had earned a legendary place in the Imperial text the moment the campaign was over. The casualties, both non-combatants and combatants, soared into the septillions. One of the commanders said, "When we were finished, there wasn't anyone left to liberate."

Andre had not seen action in Degraloz, thankfully, or he probably wouldn't be standing here today. He barely missed it; Andrew was commissioned as a commissar at the very end of the Degraloz campaign. According to intel, expected lifetime on a Degraloz mission was exactly 64.87 minutes.

Andre silently hoped that Taiga wouldn't end up like Degraloz; a barren, uninhabitable wasteland, with ruined cities and pock-marked with craters that dotted the entire landscape. Though he didn't serve in Degraloz, Andre had seen the planet.

He read that the planet was covered in green land, thriving from an incredible agricultural society. The only 'green planet' in the Hiberna system, what happened to the planet's climate still remains to be a complete mystery.

A demolisher rolled up to the two commanders and slowed down to the speed of their walking pace. Halle was seated on top of the track guards, "C'mon you two, Danielle has offered us a ride!"

Halle helped the two up onto the large tank. It surged forward to the front of the group, "Anything new, guys? Any good news at all?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"Ah, well, that's normal isn't it now?" She stared down the street towards the large stadium they were headed to. The complex was huge. It was nearly five stories high and over seven hundred meters in length. The entrances, into and out of the building were perfect chokepoints if any orks made it through the field of fire.

The defensive line would form the shape of a U. Circling around the stadium and stretching all the way to the bridges. If the coliseum did not hold, the plan was to retreat across one bridge and destroy the other.

But that was the best case scenario.

Halle knew well that the likelihood of such a lucky position of escape would be one in a million. Exactly how they were _really _going to escape was unknown. She, Lilia, and Andre directed 6th Company's defensive position on the second floor, east side of the stadium. They used sandbags, rubble, metal rods, anything to barricade themselves against the inevitable ork attack.

The sun began to sink beneath the horizon, and soon night fell across the city. The thunderous rumble of tanks ceased and all the lights and fire were doused. There was a howling wind and a light snow started to fall.

Lilia sat at the top of the stadium, her night-vision and infrared scope was pointed north-east. She had voluntarily taken the post of a spotter to warn her fellow comrades of the oncoming greenskins early enough for them to make their defense. Her rifle panned across the city for the tenth time when a bright red blob engulfed her vision, "Here they come."


	9. Chapter 8: Holding Out

**Chapter 8: Holding Out**

**Weather: Moderate Snow, Fast Winds:::Predicted Temperature: -32°C**

* * *

The sixteen companies within the garrisoned building sat deathly quiet as they saw the orks flood into the plaza. As quietly as they could they charged their las-batteries and loaded their heavy weapons. Halle, with her boltgun pointed down at the orks, heard the Colonel over the radio, "They don't know we're here...Open fire on my order."

The orks stopped right in front of the stadium, from the looks on their faces, they had no idea that the Imperial forces were still there.

"Smoke 'em."

There was a simultaneous cocking of weapons, followed by a hailstorm of gunfire that completely engulfed and incinerated the orks closest to the garrisoned stadium. The greenskins had no idea what was going on and those that were not killed in the initial barrage, fled from the plaza in panic.

The night went slowly by, the constant pound of Steel Legion basilisks echoed through the night. The forces were at constant alert and the fear of being surrounded reverberated throughout the building.

An occasional ork raiding party would assault the building every now and then, but no large single assault occurred. Which frightened all of the regimental commanders; usually orks were quick to attack, but there lack of large assaults made them believe that the greenskins were preparing for a strong push.

Halle sat quietly behind a counter in what used to be a small souvenir stand. The room was illuminated by a bright lantern. There was a somewhat decrepit table that stood in front of her. A small map was spread open on it and Halle's plasma pistol lay on top of the map. She took a sip from her vodivilisk.

Andre walked in and pulled up a chair by her, "Lilia's got the next shift. She just relieved me a few minutes ago," He sighed slightly and leaned back into his chair, "The soldiers are getting a little uneasy. I had to give 'em a pep talk. They're losing hope, Emperor forbid."

Halle looked at the commissar, a slight sense of worry passed between the two as they exchanged glances.

Andre took the magazine out from his bolt pistol and checked the breech, taking the bullet from within and pushing it back into the magazine. He gently placed it onto the table along with his visor cap and sighed again.

Halle finished what was left of her drink, "Well, Comrade-Commissar, what is our situation besides the fact that our troops are starting to doubt?"

The commissar ran his hand through his hair, "We're doing fine on ammunition for the moment, except for rockets. We definitely need more krak rockets for all those tanks the orks are gonna throw at us sooner or later." He started to tap the top of his cap gently. "Our weapons are in good order, no jams and we've had a few overheats, but not enough to affect the weapons' performance. Other than that we're doing okay. We've sustained a few head and shoulder injuries from shoota shots, but those hit will be okay."

The young man leaned forward in his chair slightly, "Now, Halle, let me see that ankle."

She smiled lightly as she placed her foot gently into his lap, "It's nothing really. I haven't felt it since we got here," Halle said as she started to un-strap her boot.

Andre shrugged, "Better for me to check, than risk you getting your ankle broken." Once she had removed her boot and sock, Andre began to gently unwrap the bandage that covered her ankle. He applied small amounts of pressure along the joint, looking up every now and then to make sure she wasn't in any pain. He nodded his head, "Well, it looks like you're good."

"I told you," the young female officer persisted, "I'm fine!"

Andre smiled and started to re-bandage her leg.

"Andre, after you left the 126th, I never thought we'd see each other again."

He looked up at her, "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know, I guess in the end you start to think about the beginning."

"Who said this was the end?" He asked as he finished bandaging her leg. He slipped her sock back on and placed the boot onto her foot, "It isn't over yet! We've still got plenty of time."

A small smile grew on her face, "Yeah, I guess you're right." Halle said with her foot still in his lap, "You usually are..."

A strong impact shook the building. Dust fell from the ceiling and the soldiers started to move like a bat hitting a beehive. The guard responded with a salvo from the 63rd's artillery. Halle jumped to her feet and the commissar ran out of the room yelling, "Is everybody alright?"

There was a series if 'Yes sirs' and the stadium lit up with gunfire.

Halle grabbed a boltgun that was leaning up against a wall and ran to the nearest opening. With a pair of magnoculars she stared at the green tide. The number of rounds per second that they Imperials were firing didn't seem to stall or curb the oncoming ork tide. There was a phalanx of ork armor following the infantry.

She propped herself up against a wall and firmly placed the rifle's stock against her shoulder, firing bursts of bullets into the xeno tide. Halle felt the pierce of the winter wind which knocked her aim off, but she quickly regained it and fired.

Andre was a few meters from the captain, a missile launcher firmly placed on his shoulder. He was looking down the scope at an oncoming ork tank, his aim centered at the side of the stolen Leman Russ. The commissar gently squeezed the trigger and the rocket flew into the tank which engulfed it in a fiery explosion.

The orks were countless and the imperials were laying down as much fire as they could. Lascannons, autocannons, missile launchers, mortars, boltguns, lasguns, all manner of imperial weapons were focused on the alien wave of green; all that firepower seemed to do nothing in the long run.

The greenskins crashed against the coliseum attempting to find some hole that they could get through and pour into the building to slaughter the occupants within. Guardsmen tossed grenades into the mass with great affect...for at least three seconds there was a hole that was eventually filled with more xenos.

Halle let another empty clip fall from her boltgun and reached for another, but suddenly her arm went numb. She turned around to find another boltgun magazine when she felt someone grab her. It was Andre.

"Halle! By the Emperor's name, what happened to you?"

The captain attempted to respond. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Her legs failed her, and she collapsed.

Andre stood stunned for a few seconds after Halle had fallen, and when he regained his senses he yelled as loud as he could, "Medic! I need a medic over here now!"

The commissar looked left and right and when no one came he started to do what he could. He tore a hole in her greatcoat to expose the wound, and then with his knife he cut a strip of cloth off of his own coat and used it to apply pressure to the wound.

He again called for a medic, but it seemed no one would come...

* * *

Gregs looked through a pair of magnoculars from the roof of the field hospital on the other side of the river. The night sky was illuminated with gunfire and explosions from the stadium which the Imperials were holding.

Mockov sat against a crate, "Gregs, we can't do anything from here. There's no use in watching."

The missile launcher operator stood for a few more minutes before peeling his gaze away from the battle scene. The sounds of distant explosions resonated from across the river and echoed in the empty streets below.

"That is where you should be looking," Mockov said nodding his head in the general direction of Landergrasse. Though you could not see the city itself, the direction in which it was in relation to Tsorograd was illuminated brightly. "Remember, Gregs, you should thank the Emperor that you weren't sent there."

A medic came up to the roof when the wind started to pick up speed, "You two should come down inside, the winds are getting faster and we can't risk you two getting frost bitten."

The two soldiers obliged. Ferasen took one last look across the river before he disappeared into the building.

* * *

The battle had continued into the early morning, the Imperials grasping an amazing victory over incredible odds. The once ornate plaza of Tsorograd now was pock-marked with craters and littered with ork bodies.

Andre sat in the souvenir stand. He propped his legs up on a nearby chair and sighed deeply, his missile launcher was leaning against a nearby wall. In that entire battle, he had destroyed at least fifteen ork tanks, _at least!_

Lilia walked in and took a seat at the table, "Comrade-commissar."

"Yes?" He asked. It took some effort for him to turn his head.

"Last night, we lost fifteen soldiers and sixty-seven sustained major head and shoulder wounds. One of our Lascannons is out of commission and two autocannons misfired. Squad three from second platoon reports that they don't have any rockets left and they're low on las mags. Squad two and squad four of first platoon reports that they're low on autocannon ammo and las mags. And-."

Andre waved her off, "I'm sorry, Lilia, but I can't listen to that right now. You know as well as I do that even if we requisition some ammo, it'll take days before we get it, even_ if_ we get it."

The sniper sat quietly, "Understood. But I do it to make them feel a bit better. After last night, even I'm starting to doubt."

"You shouldn't." He said sternly, "Right now, I may be the only political officer in this company, but you are their commander! Make an example for others to follow."

"Halle will be okay, that's what the medics said to me at least. But they also said that if she doesn't improve in the next two or three days she'll be evaced to the hospital across the river," Lilia sighed as she started to inspect her sniper rifle.

"Emperor forbid," The commissar said, "They obviously don't know how important that captain is to her company..."

The two sat down for a few minutes in silence before an officer interrupted them, "Ma'am, Colonel is on the line."

Lilia took the vox, "Sir?"

The slight static somewhat distorted Sugechov voice, "Lilia? Where's Halle?"

"Wounded at the moment, sir."

"Ah, just needed a status report."

Lilia referred all of her information to Sugechov.

"I'll tell you right now that we may have to pull out earlier than anticipated, we got the latest report from the _Pride of Valhalla_ and...not...ork...signature...-." The message was cut short through static.

Andre was listening with Lilia, "I think he was talking about the ork heat signature. If he's telling us we might have to pull out earlier than planned, the ork force must be getting bigger."

Lilia tried to hail him again, but to no avail.

There was a snow storm blowing in through the west and it was interfering with vox systems. If they wanted to get a message out they would have to send a runner to the field HQ stationed by the northern bridge.

As the snow started to heavily fall, Andre gazed out the window and to the plaza where the orks sat...waiting...


	10. Chapter 9: Calling the Retreat

******Hey guys, I know I haven't been updating lately, but after I finished chapter 8 I decided to take a personal break from writing United Front and pick up some new and old stories that I have. Well, enough of my rambling. Without further ado, Chapter 9 of United Front.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Calling the Retreat**

**Weather: Heavy Snows, Fast Winds:::Predicted Temperature: -31°C**

* * *

The sun began to fall beneath the horizon. Andre sat at the table quietly and observed the schematic of the stadium, illuminated by a nearby lantern. There was a bottle of rhazvod sitting on top of the table next to him. The worried commissar poured himself a cup.

It had been nearly a week since their captain was wounded and, as the political officer, Andre had to keep the soldiers in line. The men and women of 6th Company had a mutual and outstanding respect for their captain, but their focus on her welfare has distracted them from doing their best on the battlefield.

Lilia walked in with a heavy sigh...

"It's driving me nuts," Andre said, "They keep bothering me about how Halle is doing. I've had to lie about it because, _honestly_, I haven't even heard anything about her condition."

She placed her sniper rifle on the table, "I heard a little bit from Demechiv, He said she's going to be there for a few more days before she can be sent back."

"I guess that's a good thing..." He responded, "But it would be _so_ much better if she would be back today..."

* * *

Sugechov was in his tent, leaning over a table with a map of the city spread across. He knew well that the situation was getting worse with every hour. The orks were stepping up their attacks and tank assaults. He feared that if the orks did another push like the one they had performed a week ago, they would hold, but wouldn't survive a third...

"Colonel?" He heard Talias ask, "Another request from Captain Scarbourgh to leave the field hospital and return to combat."

_Jeez_, He thought _That woman is persistent..._ Sugechov turned to Talias, "Which request is this?"

"Twenty-seventh, sir."

The Colonel chuckled slightly, "If it makes her leave us alone...Request granted." Sugechov returned to the map and said to himself, "Damn. I really need more officers like her."

A few minutes passed before Talias reappeared, "Colonel, vox call for you. It's the Lord-General."

Sugechov took the receiver from her, "This is Colonel Sebastian Sugechov speaking."

"Ah, Sugechov," He heard, "It has been awhile. I have some news for you that you, unfortunately, won't enjoy." There was a slight pause, "The offensive in New Mockba has been further stalled by heavy resistance. I'm proud of you guys for holding off for a good three or four weeks, but I have to go against my word."

"What is it, Kulikov?"

"You won't be receiving any additional forces after next month," The Lord-General responded with a sigh, "You will have to make do with what you have and wait another two more months from today before reinforcements are re-routed. I'm sorry."

Sugechov hung up and furiously knocked over the table, cursing as he did so.

They were now, indeed stuck in a dire situation. All imperial reinforcements were practically cut off from the four regiments stranded in Tsorograd. Only one choice remained: Pray to the Emperor, and hope for the best.

* * *

Vladimir Talichnikov sat quietly against a wall. He had his helmet pulled over his eyes in a futile attempt to catch some sleep. But the constant resonating sound of Basilisk artillery guns in the distance made it somewhat difficult. Rina was asleep across from where he sat.

She had changed in her attitude towards him. Vladimir figured that she changed because he so suddenly saved her from certain death several times. But in the past week, the chainsword wielding sergeant hadn't seem much action due to his CQB style fighting and the fact that he was stuck on the second floor of a huge stadium.

Vladimir lifted his head and reached for his canteen of vodivilisk.

Vanya Illotovitch turned to him, "Sarge, do you think we'll win this city?"

The sergeant sighed, "Of course I do, Vanya, why wouldn't we win Tsorograd?"

"I don't know, sir," He responded, "It just doesn't seem like we're doing good right now."

Rina had awoken and began to stir, "Don't worry, Vanya," she said with a heavy yawn, "We'll win, the Emperor will be sure of that."

Vladimir raised his canteen, "Rina, vodivilisk?" He said with a joking smile beneath the scarf around his face.

"Sure..." the woman responded, her indigo eyes staring deeply into his, "It's been awhile since I had a good drink," She took the canteen from him, "I prefer rhazvod, but vodivilisk will do just fine."

"What happened to fighting sober?"

Rina took a large gulp, "I lied," With that, she took a bottle from her inside coat pocket. It was a bottle of Vostroyan rhazvod, "This is my last bottle...You gotta love this stuff!" Rina, after passing the canteen back to Vladimir, slipped the bottle back into her pocket.

"I know what to get for your birthday now!"

"What?"

"Rhazvod."

"Thanks, but my birthday was yesterday."

* * *

Halle sat quietly in the back of the chimera, which was trundling along the cratered rocks from the field hospital near the bridges. It had been nearly a week since she last saw combat and she was very eager to return despite the fact that her arm was in a sling.

The armored vehicle came to a slow stop and the rear entrance fell open. There was a Steel Legion officer, the gunner, waiting for her. He said with a heavy accent, "This is your stop, captain."

"Thank you," Halle responded as she rose from her seat.

As the chimer drove off she heard him yell to her, "Good luck, comrade! May the Emperor protect you!" She watched it disappear around the corner before entering the stadium with a heavy sigh.

Novisik was the first to see her, "Welcome back, captain!"

Another day had past and night began to descend upon the city. Halle had not seen her two senior officers because they had left for an officers' meeting a few minutes before she had arrived. But they had left an important data-slate on the table which read:

URGENT TO OFFICERS OF THE FOLLOWING REGIMENTS:

63rd SLA, 47th DKKG, 114th CA, 203rd VA

FROM: JORDAN LINDHOFF

Officers, our situation is desperate. The 203rd's ship, _Pride of Valhalla_ has imaged the ork heat signature. The xeno battle-group is approximately ten times larger than the current Imperial force stationed at Tsorograd... In other words, us. We all had been hoping to receive reinforcements in the upcoming month, but a call to Colonel Sugechov from our Lord-General himself states otherwise. Thus, we will hold an officers' meeting in one hour to discuss this matter.

Jordan Lindhoff

Colonel, 47th DKKG

Halle sat quietly for a moment then she took a map and began to observe it intently...

* * *

Andre and Lilia had returned to their command station in the stadium very late and they had found Halle already sleeping at the table, a large map of Tsorograd and the surrounding area spread across it. The both of them did their best not to disturb the captain and walked out of the souvenir stand.

For a few moments they stood in complete silence, "Do they really expect us to hold out against such a superior force?" Lilia said, "We're outnumbered ten to one. Even though we've had the upper hand before, it still doesn't prevent us from receiving tremendous casualties."

Andre had to agree with her. The Valhallan regiment was nearly below two-thirds strength, 6th company making up the majority of what was left. For the 114th, four companies had to be consolidated leaving the Cadian regiment at just above a third and the Death Korps were at half. Not to mention the armor they had already lost in the previous battles.

Andre sighed and a small cloud of steam appeared in front of his mouth. It was cold. But for some reason, this cold was different than before.

"We can do it. We can't give up hope. The entire battle-group is depending on us." The commissar said sub-consciously.

Suddenly Halle woke-up. Jumping to her feet she said to the two of them, "Did you hear that?"

Andre, caught slightly by surprise looked at her with a puzzled look.

Lilia answered, "What?"

"Shh!" Halle held her good hand up to quiet them. Then the commissar and executive officer heard it. There was a sudden thump in the distance, it was followed by one, then two, then three, until the number was uncountable.

They heard from down the corridor, "Incoming!"


	11. Chapter 10: Sacrificial Lamb

**Chapter 10: Sacrificial Lamb**

**Weather: Moderate Snows, Light Winds:::Predicted Temperature: -37˚C**

* * *

"We can't hold them much longer!" Renik said urgently, "Our tanks simply can't handle taking on baneblades! If we don't retreat, we'll lose our armor let alone the infantry casualties we'll get as well. From what I've got in front of me, we're screwed."

The building shook violently.

"That's it," Lindhoff said as an artillery shell impacted the structure, "Do we all agree on this?"

The other three colonels nodded.

"Good," The Death Korp commander said over the load echo of artillery, "Renik, start moving your tanks across the north bridge, Harris will destroy the south." The Steel Legion colonel nodded and ran out. A few moments later, the sound of explosive charges resonated throughout the streets as the southern bridge crumbled.

Before Lindhoff and Harris departed, Sugechov gathered them together, "Do you two realize how dangerous this sudden pull-out can be? If we retreat suddenly, we won't have a defense set up on the other side fast enough. There's a chance the orks well attack us, overrun us, and wipe us out." He sighed, "We need to do something to stall those xenos. I figured since the Pride is orbiting just overhead, we could call in a heavy orbital strike on top of the stadium."

"Can't we just do that on our way out?"

"No, the orks will get suspicious. We need someone to stall them. To keep them here until the strike hits."

Harris was take slightly aback, "But who would do that? It's a suicide mission!"

"Yes it's crazy," Lindhoff responded, "But they could take the majority of the ork force with them." He paused for a moment, "I'll give my boys a call. You two should do the same. It may be a sacrifice, but they wouldn't die in vain."

* * *

Halle, whose arm was healed and out of a sling, turned to Andre and Lilia with a slightly surprised and bothered look, "You're not going to believe this. Sugechov just asked if there was anyone 'willing to make a sacrifice for the Emperor.'"

The two exchanged bothered looks. Andre spoke first, "A suicide mission. What might it be?"

"The colonels believe it necessary, due to the sudden retreat," She paused, "That a detail of soldiers remain here and call in an orbital strike."

Andre sat forward in his chair, "How effective would that be, Captain?" He sighed, "I'd imagine it would have to be a broadside. That would annihilate this half of the city completely. Perhaps a few hardened buildings would survive, but I doubt it."

Halle nodded, "Exactly..."

"That would mean the one who called it in..."

Andre turned to Lilia who said, "Would be killed too. What are your order, Captain?"

The young female officer turned back to the foggy window, "Your orders are to get ready to move." She folded her arms as she turned to face them, "I'm going to need you later, I've got some plans in the future and I'm going to need all of you with me."

The stadium was alive with activity as the soldiers who were leaving prepared themselves for their mass exodus and those who were to stay behind, set themselves up for what would be their last stand.

In all a total of 167 soldiers volunteered to remain and allow their fellow guardsmen a chance to escape. In the very center of the building was a small makeshift fortress of wood and sandbags which was dotted with small gun ports and heavy weapons emplacements.

There were a number of men and women from 6th company who wanted to stay behind, but Hanna insisted on preventing them from doing so. Andre had asked her multiple times what her plans were, but she said the shoe would tell him when the time came.

On the day before the final pull-out, Andre found Halle standing on a balcony that overlooked the center of the stadium. She was leaning on the railing with both arms.

"Captain, the company is ready and awaiting your orders," Andre stood behind her quietly, hands clasped behind his back, "Captain Ulricht Venson of the 63rd and his chimeras will be taking us."

"She nodded, "Very well, Comrade Commissar, start loading them up."

The commissar couldn't help but notice that Halle was somewhat distressed. He decided to leave the issue alone.

6th company was the last to be evacuated die to the fact that they were the most complete company out of all that remained. Andre obediently waited for the captain who emerged from the entrance. He noticed that her executive officer was not with her, "Halle, where's Lilia?"

She sighed, "We had a long talk, Andre. Lilia is going to stay behind. Since there wasn't a commanding officer to lead the detail, she was able to convince me that she needed to stay." With a nod to her commissar, Halle entered the chimera.

Andre stood for a moment, said a quick prayer for the soldiers' sacrifice, and followed the captain in.

* * *

Lilia sat quietly next to the long-range vox-caster that sat on the table. She was cradling a golden Aquila that hung around her neck. It had been a gift to her from her boyfriend, who, unfortunately, died in the first few weeks of the campaign. Ironically, she had been appointed to the position he had left behind.

Lilia felt that she had suffered enough. She was ready to leave this world, but she was going to do it with a fight.

Ivan Stauffenberg entered the room, "Ma'am, we are prepped and read."

The Valhallan officer simply nodded and dismissed him.

She grabbed her sniper rifle which was leaning up against the wall and made her way outside. The sky was a brilliant white, clouds filled the sky and the sound of pounding ork feet filled the air.

The executive officer slammed a las pack into the chamber of her rifle and set the sights on the scope. She heard the orks slamming against the barricaded entrance. The thumps of the ork battering ram matched the beating of her nervous heart.

Lilia could feel the tension in the air. The soldiers that surrounded her kept straight faces, but she could tell they were just as nervous as she was.

"Stauffenberg," She said turning to the Krieg storm trooper, "Are you nervous?"

He nodded, "Yes ma'am."

"Just remember, the Emperor will have a seat for you by his Golden Throne for this sacrifice."

He nodded, raised his hellgun into the air and yelled, "Purge the xeno!"

Soon others joined him until the 167 soldiers were chanting, "Purge! Purge! Purge!"

Even in the face of death, these soldiers had undying faith...

The barricade fell and the orks rushed in.

No one talked in the chimera that bore 6th company's commanding officers. Only the steady grumble of the vehicle's engine broke the eerie silence. Andre stood quietly as the personnel carrier bumped along the road, his hand tightly grasping a handle that hung above his head.

Halle sat quietly in one of the seats.

The commissar had a small prayer book open, and he was quietly praying underneath his breath. As he paused in between each prayer, he looked around at the others.

Some had sad, disappointed looks on their faces. Others seemed determined and hard-spirited. But nonetheless, all felt the same about the loss of their executive officer. There was none like Lilia.

Andre slipped the book into his great coat pocket and took the empty seat next to the captain, "What do you and Lilia talk about, Captain, if you don't mind me asking."

She looked up at him and sighed, "It was a long talk... She brought up her family, her service, pretty much every trick in the book." Again Halle sighed, "Lilia was torn when her father was pronounced dead a year ago on Euthien. But when Vanek died, her, I guess you could say, boyfriend, died she was devastated. Although she served well as an executive officer, I could always tell she was hurting. She was able to convince me that this was her time. This moment is what the Emperor was calling her to live for. She wants to see her father again, but most of all she wants to see Vanek. But she told me she wasn't going down without a fight."

Andre slowly nodded, "Then we must make sure she does not die in vain."

"You bet, by the Golden Throne of the Emperor, that I will avenge her!"

The orks were an endless stream. Heavy bolter bullets, autocannon shells, and las bolts were mowing down greenskins left and right but it was not enough. They were gaining meter by bloody meter and in minutes they will crash against the make-shift fortress like water on rock.

Ivan was at the highest point of the fortress with a pair of magnoculars, "Ma'am I think this is it!"

Lilia nodded and grabbed the receiver of the long-range vox caster.

"Pride of Valhalla, Lilia, awaiting your orders."

"Pride, this is it. Fire at your discretion."

"Yes, ma'am. My the God-Emperor be with you..."

Lilia nodded to Ivan who nodded back, "Ma'am, it was a pleasure serving with you."

"As with you."

Ivan holstered his hellgun and screamed out loud. He rose his hands into the air and Lilia noticed the shine of a dozen rings around his fingers, "There is only one, true God-Emperor!"

He threw himself into the mass of orks and his body was engulfed in a massive explosion. He punctured a hole in the crowd which was quickly filled by more greenskins.

Lilia stood up so that all in the stadium could see her, she raised her rifle in the air and let out a loud war cry, "For Valhalla!" A ork shoota bullet punctured her neck and she fell back into a wall of sandbags.

As the feeling in her limbs began to leave her Lilia could see large las-beams puncture through the clouds. She managed a weak smile as the large stream of magnified light sped down towards her, Vanek... Dad... I can't wait to see you...


End file.
